Freedom For Some, Trouble For Others
by ReadOutLoud284
Summary: The gods granted Percy's wish and set Calypso free. Percy is finally happy, and then she seeks him out. What will happen? One-shot, rated T for mild language.


Disclaimer: As much as I LOVE the Percy Jackson series, I don't own them!

A/N: I hope everybody likes this, and if you review, I want the truth! That's the only way to get better, right? If the characters are a little OOC, I'm sorry… I sometimes let my imagination run a little wild.

P.S. If you read the Lost Hero, I'm pretending like it didn't happen. The war ended, the gods won, and things have gotten better.

* * *

><p>"Finally! We're finished!" Annabeth laughed.<p>

"I know, right?" I smiled and pulled her into a hug. "But it's all worth it, I know it." Two weeks ago I became the luckiest man in the world and got married to Annabeth. One week ago we finished our honeymoon… don't even get me started talking about that! So of course, this week was left for unpacking and getting settled into our new apartment. When we got back to Manhattan, I'd surprised Annabeth with the place. We had been planning to stay in our old apartment, which wasn't bad or anything, but I thought she deserved better. If we're starting a life together, we need a good starting place, right?

She pulled away from y embrace and straightened the wedding picture on the wall. "Of course it's worth it! I still can't believe we've made it to here! It just never seemed like it'd happen, that we could finally be happy! It's just about us now, me and you."

Gods, I loved hearing her talk like that. Everything she said was true, things had gotten better, and we'd settled down. When she talks that way, it shows me how much I mean to her, and it never fails to remind me how much I love her. When you come so close to losing somebody, every minute with them feels like a gift. During the war, I swore our time together would be shorter, but the Fates were evidently on my side during it all. After a hard period of time, things were looking up.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. "Were you expecting anybody?"

Annabeth looked confused. "Nope. Nobody's called asking to come, either, either."

I just shrugged and opened the door, thinking it was probably Grover or somebody like that. I got a surprise instead. As soon as I saw who it was, my heart skipped a beat. I was paralyzed by the sudden flash flood of emotions running through me. I didn't make a sound. Heck, I couldn't make a sound. In the doorway stood somebody from my past who I never thought I'd see again. She'd aged since the last time I saw her to where she looked about my age, twenty-one. Of course, she could probably assume any form she wanted. It was none other than Calypso. Years back, she'd been pretty, but now she was absolutely striking.

Time must've passed faster than I thought, because after what seemed like only a second she was looking confused and waving a hand in front of my eyes.

"Oh! Um, sorry about, uh, that. Come on in." Gods, I sounded like a complete idiot! When I told her to come in, it sounded like a question!

As soon as Calypso and I join Annabeth in the living room, Annabeth knew something was up. Her eyes said it all. She materialized by my side, and I put an arm around her waist.

"Percy, honey, you're being rude. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" I knew that tone. That tone meant I was in trouble, no matter how I handled this.

"Oh, sorry. Annabeth, this is Calypso. Calypso, this is Annabeth." As soon as I said Calypso's name, I knew I'd hit a nerve with Annabeth. Her back stiffened and she smiled. Only the smile didn't reach her eyes, in her eyes I saw pure hate. Though we'd never talked about it, she knew of my time on Ogygia with Calypso. I should've told her about it, but all I thought it'd do was hurt her. What was the point in bringing it up? I never thought I'd see Calypso again.

"Hello, Annabeth. I remember your name, Percy talked about you."

Annabeth kept the fake smile up and said, "That's funny, he's never mentioned you."

"But he remembered, which is enough."

I smiled awkwardly. You could literally feel the tension, though if Calypso noticed, she didn't let on.

Annabeth pulled away from me, turning the glare to me. "I just remembered a few boxes in our bedroom. I'll be back."

Calypso and I both watched her go down the hall and slam the door.

"Sorry," I said, trying to make conversation and excuse Annabeth's behaviour. I needed to figure out why she was here. "We've just moved in. Kind of hectic."

She looked around. "Lovely place, you should be proud."

"Yeah, I am. So, how is freedom?"

She smiled, making her face light up. "I can never thank you enough! I love it! But this is by far the best, seeing you."

Uh-Oh. My fear has been confirmed. She thinks we are in love. This is bad. I needed advice. The only problem was that I was going to have to ask Annabeth, and she was mad. But I still have to try. "Hey, I'll be right back, I need to check on Annabeth, just to make sure she's found where things need to go." I turned and went to the bedroom without looking back.

* * *

><p>When I got to the bedroom, I found Annabeth sitting there, just staring at the wall, her face expressionless. It broke my heart seeing her like this, but at least she wasn't crying. I don't think I could handle it if she cried.<p>

"Honey?" I tentatively asked.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at me.

"I need some help. How do I get rid of Calypso?" Then, realizing how cold I sounded, I quickly added, "I know that you're upset, but I need your advice. I don't know what to do."

"Did you tell her that we were married?" Her voice sounded empty and hollow. I immediately felt stupid, because I should've just shut the door in Calypso's face.

"I'm pretty sure she saw the wedding picture."

"Yes, probably, but did you tell her?"

"She won't care! That won't keep her away!"

"You're probably right."

"You sound like you don't want her to leave."

"Of course I want her gone, but only you can get rid of her! Tell her the truth!"

"I don't want to hurt her."

"The truth hurts. She shouldn't even matter to you. There are more important things for you to focus on."

"She doesn't matter!" Gosh, why was she being so stubborn? I'm trying not to hurt either one, but that's not exactly working out.

"If she did matter, you would tell it like it is and not care that it hurts."

She's just trying to make me feel worse. I just rolled my eyes and walked away, which was probably not the brightest thing in the world.

* * *

><p>As soon as I got back in the living room, Calypso and I sat on the couch. For a few minutes, we made comfortable, neutral small talk.<p>

She got a dreamy look on her face suddenly. "Do you remember that flower I gave you?"

I smiled awkwardly. "Yep, sure do."

"Did you plant it?"

"Yes, it was beautiful." This was good, safe conversation. Maybe she just wanted to see somebody that she knew. Yeah, that's it! It has to be.

"I still love moonlace. My garden was the most beautiful thing in the world. I miss it dearly."

I felt bad for her because I know how much her garden meant to her. When I left, she wanted me to start one here for her. "Yeah, there are not too many gardens here."

"Nope. But there are other beautiful things here." Her voice took on a seductive tone.

Back to bad territory. I had to get her on safe conversation and then get her out of here! But she was so kind and hospitable to me when I stayed with her, so I can't just kick her out. "Yeah, there are."

"Do you know the most beautiful thing here?"

My best plan right now was to pretend I didn't notice her obvious flirting. It wasn't a good tactic, but I wouldn't hurt her that way. Calypso had a lot of hurt in her life already, and I didn't need to add any more to her list of disappointments. "No, I don't."

"The people! There are so many of them, and it's just amazing! The way the interact, the way they live life, all of it! I can't get over it."

"Yeah, things have changed a lot since you were free."

We were both quiet for a few minutes, until she asked, "What do you think would've happened if you had accepted my invitation?"

"I don't know. That was the past. I'm happy where I am."

"I'm glad you're happy. But we could've been happy."

This is getting out of hand. I have to stand up for myself, my marriage, and Annabeth. I was bringing pain to the woman I love by just being out here. I'm being stupid. I should be more worried about hurting Annabeth, but I naturally assumed I could just get Annabeth back. That was wrong, I don't deserve her. "Look, Calypso, I'm married. I'm happy. We, as in me and you, have no-" but I was broken off by a kiss from Calypso. Immediately I pushed her off. The kiss was awful. There was nothing good in it. Nothing like Annabeth's kiss, where it feels like if I just had one kiss a day I'd be happy the rest of my life.

Now, if possible, I felt even worse. I could've prevented this, but I didn't want to hurt Calypso's feelings. Now, I just don't care anymore. "Calypso! No, damn it! How dare you do this? You come into my house, disrespect me, my wife, and our marriage, and now you're going to get out! NOW!" I pointed to the door. I wasn't exactly expecting to explode like that, but I'm glad I did. It needed to be said. I couldn't care less where Calypso went, but I should be in there with Annabeth.

Adding to my anger, Calypso just seemed to ignore my outburst. "I'm sorry, but I never would've been happy if I hadn't done that. Now, I must leave. Good bye, Perseus Jackson." And with that, she just walked out.

Now time for me to do damage control. I've really screwed up. I shouldn't assume Annabeth will always take me back. I can only hope she will now.

* * *

><p>After knocking on our bedroom door for about ten minutes straight, Annabeth finally let me in. "What do you want, Percy?" she asked. Her eyes and face were red with crying and her voice trembled. I hated seeing her this way.<p>

I couldn't say anything except the truth. "I acted so incredibly stupid. I'm sorry, and I love you."

"You let Calypso kiss you."

"I didn't let her kiss me, Annabeth! She just did. I pushed her off, too." She glared at me, obviously thinking I was making excuses, so I quickly added, "but I could've prevented it. I shouldn't have let her inside in the first place. I realize it. And, just out of my curiosity, how did you see the kiss?"

Her face softened when I admitted how I'd messed up. She held up her Yankee's cap (I should've known) and gave a small smile, but it quickly disappeared. "How can I ever trust you again? It's like you were trying to hurt me!" Tears started falling again.

I was really surprised by how calm she's being; I figured she's never speak to me again or be incredibly pissed. "I'll have to earn your trust. And I'll do whatever it takes to get it back. I just thought that you'd automatically take me back, which was stupid. I don't deserve you."

"How do I know it won't happen again?"

I reached out and grabbed her hands, grateful that she didn't pull away. "I only have eyes for you. I love you more than I've ever loved anything and everyone. My life didn't really begin until I met you. I've been an ass and I made some stupid choices. I'm sorry, and I'd do anything to make it up to you. I should've talked to you about my time on Ogygia, but I was afraid of hurting you. Looking back, it'd have been a lot easier than this." I brushed some of her hair out of her face and kissed her softly, and she kissed back.

When we were finished, she smiled and hugged me. Her gentle hands massaged the small of my back. It was a habit she'd picked up after I told her my mortal spot. "I love you, Percy." It was then that I knew even though she was upset, things would be okay and we could overcome this.


End file.
